Local Briefs: Metro

December 12, 2006|Staff Reports

SOUTH BENDMagnet applications due by end of week Applications for magnet schools and programs of the South Bend Community School Corp. are due Friday. The applications are for the 2007-08 school year at Kennedy Primary Academy, Tarkington Traditional School and LaSalle Intermediate Academy. Applications are available at all South Bend schools, the Administration Building, 215 S. St. Joseph St. and online at sbcsc.k12.in.us. Applications for the high school magnet programs must be completed by current eighth-graders wishing to enroll in one of the four magnets. There is International Baccalaureate and Global Studies at Adams High School, Visual and Performing Arts at Clay High School, Technology and Engineering at Riley High School and Medical/Allied Health Sciences at Washington High School. For more information, contact the office of school management at (574) 283-8084. SOUTH BENDHit and run apparently caused electrical fire A hit and run could have been the cause of an electrical fire that started in a local liquor store. A little before 10 p.m. Saturday, a Ryder truck reportedly ran into the southeast corner of South Bend Discount Liquor at 1119 N. Bendix Drive. The crash caused some damage to the structure and afterward, employees reported that sparks were coming from the front of the building, said South Bend Fire Battalion Chief Al Kirsits. Fire officials are unsure what caused the fire, Kirsits said, adding that wiring from an electric sign that once stood on the building when it was called the Pink Elephant may still have been active. After the fire was out, the business re-opened. Police were searching for the Ryder truck Saturday night. Worker locked in trunk during robbery A man told police he was locked in the trunk of a car at one point while he was being robbed at gunpoint about 10:40 a.m. Sunday. The victim told police he was exiting a Blockbuster Video in the 4300 block of Western Avenue -- where he is an employee -- with the store's deposit money when a male approached him and revealed a handgun. The robber reportedly told the victim to get into the driver's seat of his car. Another male then pushed the victim into the passenger's seat, while the first robber got in the backseat and hit the victim in the back of the head with his gun, according to police. The robbers, described to be in their 20s, made the victim drive to an alley at an unknown location and ordered him into the trunk. The robbers then drove the man to an unknown location on Elwood Avenue. The assailants opened the trunk and told the victim to sit in the vehicle for at least 10 minutes or they would kill him. After 10 minutes, the victim spotted an undercover police officer and was able to flag the officer down.